After a conference

I typically attend two or more conferences each year.  I usually travel to at least one — sometimes two — and usually attend to one or more locally.

The benefit of attending conferences is being focused for a particular time on a given topic and interacting on those topics with like-minded people without the distraction of daily activities.

Of course, the day I return, I’m surrounded by daily pressures and some like-minded people and some unlike-minded people, but few who have been thinking about the things I’ve been thinking.

So how shall I process a conference so that it provides ongoing benefit, not just during the hours or days I’m away?

Don Whitney, in another set of ten questions, offers ten questions to ask after attending a conference.

1. What’s the single most important truth I have learned at this conference/event?
2. What’s the most important thing in my life that will be different or I will attempt to change as a result of attending this conference/event?
3. What’s the next step I should take to incorporate this change into my life?
4. What’s the single most important resource I should acquire at or after this conference/event?
5. When will I begin to read/listen to/utilize this resource?
6. Who is one person at this conference/event with whom I should discuss this conference/event?
7. Who is one person after this conference/event with whom I should discuss something from this conference/event?
8. Who is the one person at this conference/event I most need to encourage?
9. Who is someone who has helped to organize or serve at this conference/event who deserves a word of gratitude and would be encouraged to know of the impact of this conference/event in my life?
10. What’s one thing I should pray about for myself and for others as a result of this conference/event?

In fact, most of these questions are not only helpful for contemplating the impact of a conference on my life, but they are also appropriate for asking after any sermon.

[You might also be interested in this interview with Don Whitney, or this audio version of his classic book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.]